2017 Tony Awards Betting Odds
–The Tony Award recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre
–Nominations were announced on May 2.
–The Tony Awards ceremony will be broadcast by CBS on June 11.
IN THE BEGINNING…
The Tony Awards began on April 6, 1947 and despite the growth of countless other forms of visual entertainment continue to be relevant today. The ‘official’ name is the ‘Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre’ but since that doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue so the name was almost immediately shortened to ‘Tony Awards’. The award is named after Broadway actress/director/producer Antoinette Perry who died in 1946. She was also the co-founder of the American Theatre Wing which is essentially the live drama equivalent to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science and the organization that presents these awards. Ms. Perry was reportedly nicknamed ‘Tony’ which makes the shortened version of the award make perfect sense. The ‘Tony’ nickname dates back to the first awards presentation and is credited to Warner Brothers story editor Jacob Wilk. According to history, it was a complete ad-lib he made while giving out one of the inaugural awards and the name stuck.
The first few years the American Theatre Wing gave out useful stuff instead of an award. In the first two years of the Tony Awards the prizes were a scroll, cigarette lighter and articles of jewelry such as 14-carat gold compacts and bracelets for the women, and money clips for the men. The award itself was first used in 1949 and the official Tony Awards website provides this background:
In 1949 the designers’ union, United Scenic Artists, sponsored a contest for a suitable model for the award. The winning entry, a disk-shaped medallion designed by Herman Rosse, depicted the masks of comedy and tragedy on one side and the profile of Antoinette Perry on the other. The medallion was initiated that year at the third annual dinner. It continues to be the official Tony Award.
Since 1967 the medallion has been mounted on a black pedestal with a curved armature. After the ceremony, each award is numbered for tracking purposes and engraved with the winner’s name.
The addition of the pedestal was supposedly done to give the award more ‘heft’ as some had suggested that it compared unfavorably to the Oscars in this regard.
TONY AWARDS 2017
The Tony Awards released nominations on May 2, 2017 not without some controversy. Then again, much of the discord has everything to do with personal taste. For example, some Broadway aficionados are livid that ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ was completely shut out. Just as many suggest that ‘zero nominations’ is exactly what the Willy Wonka reboot deserved. Overall, I was pleased with the numbers I put up for the nomination process and particularly since it’s the first time I’ve done the Tony Awards. In the nomination process I set prices on the major awards but I’ve added in the technical awards for the final 2017 Tony Awards betting odds.
Now that the nominations are out it’s fairly easy to set prices. It’s important to keep in mind that I’m not trying to predict what will win in each category and I’m definitely not trying to hang numbers that will reflect my ‘opinion’. My job is to keep the book’s liability figures in balance and the way to do this is to reflect the opinion of the ‘public’ on what *they* think will win. I set awards prices the same way no matter if it’s the Tony Awards, Emmy Awards or the MTV Video Music Awards. I try to balance the prevailing winds of popularity and ‘critical acclaim’ among fans with the educated opinions of experts. The trick is to figure out which ‘opinions’ are influential or insightful. That’s not always obvious or easy.
The goal of SPORTS BETTING EXPERTS is to set the sharpest Tony Awards odds on the planet. We’ll find out if we succeeded on June 11, 2017 live from the Beacon Theatre:
2017 TONY AWARDS BETTING ODDS
TO WIN THE TONY AWARD FOR ‘BEST MUSICAL’
Dear Evan Hansen: -450
Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812: +350
Come From Away: +600
Groundhog Day: +1250
TO WIN THE TONY AWARD FOR ‘BEST PLAY’
Sweat: +100
Oslo: +175
Indecent: +300
A Doll’s House Part 2: +600
TO WIN THE TONY AWARD FOR ‘BEST MUSICAL REVIVAL’
Hello, Dolly!: -2150
Falsettos: +750
Miss Saigon: +1500
TO WIN THE TONY AWARD FOR ‘BEST PLAY REVIVAL’
The Little Foxes: -150
Jitney: +120
Present Laughter: +900
Six Degrees of Separation: +900
TO WIN THE TONY AWARD FOR ‘BEST ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL’
Bette Midler/Hello, Dolly!: -900
Christine Ebersole/War Paint: +750
Patti LuPone/War Paint: +750
Denee Benton/Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812: +1750
Eva Noblezada/Miss Saigon: +1750
TO WIN THE TONY AWARD FOR ‘BEST ACTOR IN A MUSICAL’
Ben Platt/Dear Evan Hansen: -700
Andy Karl/Groundhog Day: +525
Josh Groban/Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812: +1250
David Hyde Pierce/Hello, Dolly!: +1250
Christian Borle/Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: +1250
TO WIN THE TONY AWARD FOR ‘BEST ACTRESS IN A PLAY’
Laurie Metcalf/A Doll’s House Part 2: -500
Cate Blanchett/The Present: +450
Laura Linney/The Little Foxes: +900
Jennifer Ehle/Oslo: +1250
Sally Field/The Glass Menagerie: +1250
TO WIN THE TONY AWARD FOR ‘BEST ACTOR IN A PLAY’
Kevin Kline/Present Laughter: -700
Jefferson Mays/Oslo: +500
Corey Hawkins/Six Degrees of Separation: +1250
Denis Arndt/Heisenberg: +1250
Chris Cooper/A Doll’s House Part 2: +1250
TO WIN THE TONY AWARD FOR ‘BEST FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL’
Rachel Bay Jones/Dear Evan Hansen: -150
Stephanie J. Block/Falsettos: +210
Jenn Colella/Come From Away: +600
Kate Baldwin/Hello, Dolly!: +750
Mary Beth Peil/Anastasia: +1250
TO WIN THE TONY AWARD FOR ‘BEST FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL’
Gavin Creel/Hello, Dolly!: -175
Andrew Rannells/Falsettos: +250
Brandon Uranowitz/Falsettos: +650
Lucas Steele/Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812: +650
Mike Faist/Dear Evan Hansen: +1250
TO WIN THE TONY AWARD FOR ‘BEST FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY’
Cynthia Nixon/The Little Foxes: -150
Johanna Day/Sweat: +200
Jayne Houdyshell/A Doll’s House Part 2: +700
Condola Rashad/A Doll’s House Part 2: +700
Michelle Wislon/Sweat: +1150
TO WIN THE TONY AWARD FOR ‘BEST FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY’
Danny DeVito/The Price: -350
Nathan Lane/The Front Page: +500
John Douglas Thompson/Jitney: +750
Michael Aronov/Oslo: +750
Richard Thomas/The Little Foxes: +1250
TO WIN THE TONY AWARD FOR ‘BEST DIRECTOR–MUSICAL’
Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812: -475
Dear Evan Hansen: +350
Hello, Dolly: +1200
Come From Away: +1500
Groundhog Day: +1500
TO WIN THE TONY AWARD FOR ‘BEST DIRECTOR–MUSICAL’
Oslo: -450
Indecent: +650
Jitney: +650
The Little Foxes: +1050
A Doll’s House Part 2: +1050
TO WIN THE TONY AWARD FOR ‘BEST MUSICAL SCORE’
Dear Evan Hansen: -700
Come From Away: +750
Groundhog Day: +750
Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812: +750
TO WIN THE TONY AWARD FOR ‘BEST MUSICAL BOOK’
Dear Evan Hansen: -350
Come From Away: +400
Groundhog Day: +600
Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812: +600
TO WIN THE TONY AWARD FOR ‘BEST ORCHESTRATIONS’
Hello, Dolly: -350
Bandstand: +400
Dear Evan Hansen: +600
Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812: +650
TO WIN THE TONY AWARD FOR ‘BEST CHOREOGRAPHY’
Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812: -350
Bandstand: +400
Come From Away: +950
Groundhog Day: +950
Holiday Inn: +1150
TO WIN THE TONY AWARD FOR ‘BEST SCENIC DESIGN–PLAY’
Jitney: -300
The Play That Goes Wrong: +235
Oslo: +750
The Front Page: +950
TO WIN THE TONY AWARD FOR ‘BEST SCENIC DESIGN–MUSICAL’
Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812: -750
Groundhog Day: +650
Oslo: +650
The Front Page: +950
TO WIN THE TONY AWARD FOR ‘BEST COSTUME DESIGN–PLAY’
The Little Foxes: -350
Present Laughter: +250
Jitney: +950
A Doll’s House Part 2: +950
TO WIN THE TONY AWARD FOR ‘BEST COSTUME DESIGN–MUSICAL’
Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812: -150
Hello, Dolly: +125
Anastasia: +750
War Paint: +950
TO WIN THE TONY AWARD FOR ‘BEST LIGHTING DESIGN–PLAY’
Indecent: -475
Oslo: +300
Jitney: +950
A Doll’s House Part 2: +1150
TO WIN THE TONY AWARD FOR ‘BEST LIGHTING DESIGN–MUSICAL’
Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812: -650
Dear Evan Hansen: +600
Come From Away: +750
Hello, Dolly: +750